The New York Dow Jones Stock Exchange closed on Monday (December 5) after the US services sector index expanded more than in November. This has led investors to worry that this could be a driving force for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to raise interest rates for a longer period of time. The market was also under pressure from Tesla stocks falling. After the company revealed plans to cut production in China
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 33,947.10 points, down 482.78 points, or -1.40%, the S&P500 closed at 3,998.84 points, down 72.86 points or -1.79%, and the Nasdaq Index closed at 11,239.214%, and down 11,239.94%.
Markets have been pressured by concerns that the Fed may continue to raise interest rates aggressively and for a longer period of time. After the United States released the service sector index and employment numbers that grew higher than expected in November.
The US Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said last night that the US services index rose to 56.5 in November from 54.4 in October and beat expectations of 53.1, with an index above 50 indicating expansion.
The US Labor Department said on Friday that non-farm payrolls rose by 263,000 in November. That beat analysts’ expectations of 200,000 jobs and average hourly wages for workers rose 5.1 percent year over year. That was higher than the 4.6% expected, and hourly wages are the main focus for the Fed when looking for signs of inflation.
Recent reports indicate that Investors are now 89% leaning on the Fed raising rates by 0.50% at its December 13-14 meeting and expecting the Fed to peak at 4.984% in May 2023.
Tesla shares fell 6.37 percent after the company announced plans to cut Model Y production at its Shanghai factory by more than 20 percent in December from November levels. The drop in Tesla shares dragged the Nasdaq index down for the second day in a row.
Energy stocks fell after WTI oil prices sank nearly 4%, with Exxon Mobil shares falling 2.74%, Chevron shares falling 2.47%, Halliburton shares falling 5.27%, KonocoPhillips shares down 1.99%.
Banking stocks also fell. Although bank stock prices are usually driven by the upward trend in interest rates, But these stocks are also exposed to concerns about bad debts and a slowdown in lending. JPMorgan shed 2.85%, Morgan Stanley shed 2.49%, Goldman Sachs shed 2.38%, Citigroup shed 3.39%.
Investors are keeping an eye on key US economic data this week. These include the number of weekly jobless claims, the Producer Price Index (PPI), and the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index. to find signs that indicate the economic prospects of the United States
